Have you ever seen an anime character running around with a piece of toast or bread in their mouth? Do you know how this meme came about? What was the first anime where this happened? In this article, we will investigate the origin of the famous bread in the mouth! Shit! I'm late for school.
A common anime episode opening consists of a character late for school. He runs out of the house with a slice of toast in his mouth, while trying to put on his jacket and bumping into people (usually senpai) and getting his clothes covered in jelly.
This cliché is quite popular in romantic comedy anime, to break the perfect character pattern, giving an idea of clumsiness. In 日本, as in many countries, there is a stigma about eating in public.
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How did this toast-in-the-mouth cliché come about?
The first work where this scene appeared was a Shoujo from the 70s, so this scene became quite popular in all genres, until it became too cliché to the point of currently using this scene only for comic relief or mockery.
Some claim that it all started in a manga called Tsuraize! Boku Chan written by Takahashi Ryouko in 1975. However, at that time bread was not even popular in Japan; someone stated that they searched for the manga in the Kyoto museum and did not find a bread in the mouth.
Another person claims that it appeared in a manga written by Motomura Miyoko about Patty's first love from 1968. In that scene, she doesn’t literally run with a toast but rather with a roll of bread in her mouth.
Some believe that this cliché came from 1950s American soap operas where this same scene took place.
The name of the first anime is also unknown, some say it is プロジェクトA子 from 1986, others say it is the first episode of 機動戦士ガンダム where Amuro Ray chews on a sandwich.
The origin of a meme: Shit! I'm late for school
Because of this famous cliché of toast in the mouth, some Japanese and other internet jokers started recording and taking pictures of exaggerated scenes and runs while carrying objects in their mouths.
It all started in 2011 when a topic on an anime forum was created named Fuck Yeah Animu Toast with the intention of sharing fan art of anime characters with toast in their mouths running to school.
During this period, photos began to emerge of people carrying objects in their mouths on the famous site Tumblr. Soon, this spread in a way that it became the famous meme "Shit! I'm late for school."
Anime where characters run with toast in their mouths
The list of anime where characters run with bread in their mouths is quite extensive, let's try to list some below:
- Seitokai Yakuindomo;
- Cardcaptor Sakura;
- Pokemon;
- Evangelion;
- Hajiotsu; Shoujo Mangaka;
- Black Butler; Code Geass;
- Nisekoi; Maid-Sama;
To finish, let's leave some images, see if it recognizes:
Hope you enjoyed the article! We appreciate the comments and shares! We recommend reading the following articles with bread in your mouth:
sources of inspiration: tvtropes, knowyourmeme